Main Street where a pedestrian was hit by a car Tuesday
Photo: Lee Burnett
By Lee Burnett
A car hit and injured a pedestrian crossing Main Street in front of Central Fire Station Tuesday, according to Sanford Police.
Brenda Graffam, 71, of Sanford was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland after the accident. Her condition was listed as serious on Wednesday evening.
The accident happened about 12:25 p.m. on a stretch of Main Street with a central turning lane and no traffic signal or crosswalk.
Graffam was walking toward downtown on the west side of the street, while Ashleigh Fife, 32, of Lyman was driving a 2013 Ford Explorer in the same direction, according to a police report. A witness told police that Graffam “darted across the road without warning,” according to the report. “The SUV swerved and slammed on the brakes.”
Graffam suffered “suspected serious injury” and the vehicle sustained minor damage, according to the report.
Director of Public Works Matt Hill said he was sorry to hear of the accident, which happened 150 feet from a crosswalk at Emery Street. “We highly encourage people to use protected crosswalks,” he said. That stretch of Main Street is targeted for major safety investments under two federal grant programs that the city has secured – Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) and Safe Streets for All (SS4A). The improvements include narrowing the street by five feet and planting trees, he said. “We’re trying to slow traffic down, instead of it being a wild west,” he said. “Unfortunately, we can’t put crosswalks everywhere,” he said.
This spring, Sanford saw a spate of car-bicycle crashes, including two on Main Street, one that killed Richard Marks, 46, and another that occurred in front of Mcdonald’s restaurant, just a few hundred yards away from Tuesday’s accident. Three other people were hurt when hit by cars on Cottage Street, River Street, and Main Street, Springvale.
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